1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for a self test for diagnosing a reconfigurable device mounted on a board.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in an apparatus that includes a board separated for each function and mounted on a shelf, a self test is performed for each board prior to putting the apparatus into an operating state or when the apparatus is in a test mode. If a result of the self test is satisfactory, the apparatus is put into the operating state, and if the result is unsatisfactory, another board having a satisfactory result is used to put the apparatus into the operating state.
As a conventional self test method, for example, following techniques have been disclosed. Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H9-62534 discloses a technology in which a self-diagnose, such as memory check, is performed utilizing an available time when no access exists for a predetermined period. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-196555 discloses a technology in which test data is input into a channel not being used among plural channels to detect a failure of the apparatus by comparing the output with expected values while other channels are used for data transmission. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-144261 discloses a technology for testing a field programmable gate array (FPGA) during operation thereof. In the technology, FPGA is divided into a normal operation work area and a self-test area, after the diagnosis in the self-test area is performed, a portion of the work area is set as the self-test area. Thus, by subsequently replacing a portion of the initial self-test area with the work area to diagnose the work area, FPGA can be tested even during the operation.
However, when the apparatus is put into the operating state, the self test for each board cannot be performed and when a failure occurs abruptly in the operating state, the operation is terminated. For example, if the apparatus is a radio apparatus, electric waves may not be transmitted, resulting in service termination.
In the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. H9-62534, the self diagnosis is performed for each fixed piece of hardware defined in advance and the self test cannot be performed for smaller unit of board segmented or for an element group on the board. Additionally, since the self diagnosis is performed in a spare time, the self diagnosis cannot be performed if the apparatus is continuously operated.
In the technology disclosed Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-196555, unless the channel not being used is available, the self diagnosis cannot be started for a path from the channel to the output. Since this technology is for a multiplexing apparatus that multiplexes plural channels with a multiplexing channel switch, the self diagnosis can only be performed from each channel within a predetermined switching range. Even if an unsatisfactory result is detected for each channel, this detection is related only to a range of the input stage of the input select switch and an input processing unit for each channel, and, at the time of failure of the multiplexing channel switch at a subsequent stage, transmission through other channels cannot be continued as well.
In the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2001-144261, since the normal operation work area and the self-test area are separated to perform the self-test, if the self-test area cannot be ensured, the self test cannot be started. A segment constituting the work region necessary for the normal operation is changed according to function and time, for example, based on the necessary data processing amount. However, the self-test area is not set corresponding to the changes in the segment constituting the work region, Therefore, if the data processing amount is increased, the self test is performed for the fixed self-test area, resulting in reduction of data processing efficiency, and the self test cannot be performed flexibly correspondingly to the operating state.